schlecken

From Middle High German slecken, from Old High German *slikkon, from Proto-West Germanic *slikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *slikkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). Cognate with Bavarian schleckn and Dutch slikken.

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ˈʃlɛ.kən/, /ˈʃlɛ.kɛn/
• (often) IPA^(key): /ˈʃlɛ.ʔŋ̩/

• Audio:

  (file)

schlecken (weak, third-person singular present schleckt, past tense schleckte, past participle geschleckt, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to lick, to lap

   Synonym: lecken

• While this word is more common in the south, and even the standard word for to lick in many Swiss dialects, in the north it is exclusively associated with the consumption of sweets such as lollipops and ice cream or the consumption of milk by cats. But even in these cases it is used rather rarely. It should hence be avoided in formal conversation in favor of lecken, as it is likely to be perceived as queer or childish by people whose speech doesn’t commonly include it.

• “schlecken” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “schlecken” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “schlecken” in Duden online
• “schlecken” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.